The city has been inundated with noise as the annual car race takes over the Parklands. By day there is endless drone of motors and by night thumping music. The streets are full of people living out their racing driver’s dreams with engines revving and breaks slamming as a punctuation to the main event. People are energetic and voluble. It is exciting, fun and most residents are glad it only lasts three days. Silence will be welcome.
What is Silence?
Silence is commonly thought of as an absence of external sound or the contents of the mind. While it is a universal experience the literature is scant and spread over fields as diverse as psychology, anthropology, semiotics, theology, philosophy, and dramatic, musical, and visual arts.
Both eastern and western traditions emphasize the importance of silence with Eastern traditions linking silence to inner stillness, a sense of equanimity and unity. The Danish philosopher Kierkegaard prescribed the creation of silence as a solution to the world’s condition, while Wittgenstein viewed silence as the answer to philosophies most challenging questions.
Yet silence is not always a friend. Those who have suffered extreme depression will speak of entering a zone of silence where there is nothing to hear from the outside and nothing to say. If they attempt suicide, they may deny any event or thought that precipitated the act and speak of an emptiness that made any other choice unthinkable. This is not the silence of introspection that leads to greater self-knowledge and connection to living but the silence of the grave.
Silence and Therapy
Bertha Pappenheim named in case studies by the alias Anna O. used the term ‘talking therapy’ to describe her treatment by psychoanalyst Josef Breuer. The focus on speaking remains with attention paid to categories and strategies of questioning to support the practitioner to understand the client and clever ways to give advice and intervention. Less attention is paid to the place and power of silence.
In therapy, silence functions as it does in life; it can be productive and positive or a challenge. The reluctant adolescents may make their displeasure known by refusing to engage in any dialogue, meeting the most well placed and compassionate question with a silent stare. In couples therapy a declaration of affection or apology may go unanswered. While there may be no noise in the room there is a powerful message and one that cannot be ignored.
Alternatively, there are times when words are inadequate and the most compassionate and supportive response is silence. This is a different quality where one person may make and hold eye contact, move close and be still.
Silence may also be held by the practitioner to punctuate a conversation and hold a space so those engaged in the process are forced to stop and notice. This can be deeply uncomfortable for all and a skill that is invaluable.
Silence is communication and carries information for the family and practitioner. Learning to listen, understand and work with the silence of both family members and practitioner creates a richer dialogue with another dimension.
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